Perhaps one of the most exciting and pervasive water sports available in coastal regions of countries throughout the world is the sport known simply as surfing. Surfing may be pursued in virtually any coastal or beach area in which the adjacent body of water provides the periodic on-shore wave pattern having sufficient size or amplitude to be enjoyed by surfaces. Basically, the on-shore movement of periodically spaced waves typically of ocean coastal areas assumes a pattern of widely spaced rolling swells which provide a moving water surge having a downwardly angled shoreward slope which progresses toward the shore and which under many conditions tends to form a washover or curl along its upper crown or edge. In such areas where waves are sufficiently sized to be enjoyable, surfers can be seen waiting off-shore usually assuming prone or sitting positions upon their elongated buoyant surfboards. The basic object of the surfing activity is to observe an approaching wave and thereafter, in a properly timed activity to the waves, approach, paddle or otherwise maneuver the surfboard onto the shoreward slope of the wave in an activity generally referred to as "catching the wave". The maneuvering of the surfboard onto the wave slope is usually achieved by the surfer in an a prone facedown position upon the board. However, once the board has been maneuvered to the shoreward slope and is traveling shorewardly with the wave, surfers generally prefer to stand up upon the board and by skillful manipulation of the board and shifting of their body weight both front to back and side to side maneuver the surfboard along the traveling wave.
While simply catching and riding a significantly sized wave into shore is an exhilarating and exciting experience requiring some skill, surfers having mastered the basic skills often find it more enjoyable to endeavor to perform certain stunts or tricks upon the wave rather than simply riding it into shore. The types of stunts or tricks which may be performed are limited in large part by the skill of the surfer, the wave conditions and the type of surfboard being used.
In addition, to the sport of surfing, a similar water sport activity commonly known as "wakeboarding" is often enjoyed by using a power boat and tow line to ride the boat's wake as the participant is pulled while supported on a somewhat smaller board known as a wakeboard.
The overall or general construction of surfboards and wakeboards has not been significantly changed through the years in that all generally provide a planar buoyant board usually tapered from a maximum width at its center to a relative pointed front and back end. One or more downwardly extending fins are provided on the rear undersurface of the surfboard to provide stability and control within the water. While early surfboards were formed of solid wood and were relatively long and heavy, more recent surfboards which are significantly smaller have been provided using a lightweight rigid core which supports a fiberglass outer "skin". The result is an extremely buoyant surfboard which exhibits greater weight supporting capability and therefore may be fabricated much shorter and smaller than the original heavy wooden boards. Such lightweight high buoyancy surfboards are also provided with one or more downwardly extending fins upon the undersurface of the rear portion of the surfboard. In either style of surfboard or in the many subtle variations that exist in each style, the downwardly extending rear fins are virtually a requirement to allow the surfer to maintain control and maneuverability due to the stabilizing action such fins provide by cutting or biting into the passing water stream.
As surfers have become evermore skillful and the sport of surfing has become increasingly popular, there remains a continuing need in the art for evermore improved and exciting surfboards which permit skilled surfers to maximize their performance and creativity.